Letter Dated 11 December 2015 from the Representative of the United States of America In

A/HRC/13/1

/ United Nations / A/HRC/S-24/1
/ General Assembly / Distr.: General
14 December 2015
Original: English

Human Rights Council

Twenty-fourth special session

17 December 2015

Letter dated 11 December 2015 from the Representative of the United States of America to the Human Rights Council addressed to the President of the Council

With the support of the delegations of the States listed on the attached page (see annex), we request the Human Rights Council to hold a special session, on 17 December 2015, on preventing further deterioration of the situation of human rights in Burundi. A special session is needed because of the importance and the urgency of this situation.

We make the present request to hold a special session pursuant to the relevant procedural rules, including paragraph 10 of General Assembly resolution 60/251, paragraphs 119 to 128 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, and rules 5 and 6 of the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Council.

Please share the present request with the Human Rights Council secretariat, and convene the Bureau at your earliest convenience to make the necessary arrangements and notifications. We will circulate a draft resolution separately and schedule informal consultations thereon in due course.

(signed) Keith M. Harper
Ambassador
Representative of the United States of America to the Human Rights Council

Annex

Member States and observer States of the Human Rights Council requesting the convening of a special session

Member States

Albania, Argentina, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America

Observer States

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Panama, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

GE.10-10237 17